Kids Explore the World Through Interactive Books!

The Adventures of BB and Sam: The Return of the Champion

BB and Sam have never left the sleepy little town where they were born, but that is about to change! Unexpected adventure awaits them when their journalist parents take them on assignment to Thailand. Arriving in Bangkok, they meet a prize-winning muay Thai boxer, Kak, who has suddenly lost his fighting spirit. Eager to find out the “real story” behind Kak, BB and Sam go on a quest to unravel the mystery.

Their journey leads them to a mysterious bookshop, flooded jungles, an elusive white elephant, remote villages and more. Along the way, BB and Sam discover what it means to have courage and the importance of respecting culture and tradition. The Adventures of BB and Sam is a new classic travel adventure series for early chapter book readers. Ages 8 +

Start Your Adventure Today!

Watch our Book Trailer

Innovative Children’s Book Features

We provide you with multi-media resources that help you and your child engage with the text in meaningful new ways. Dance at the beginning of chapters to Mood Music. Quiz each other at the end of chapters with Trivia Questions. Explore colorful photos and video content. There are features that will appeal to every learning style. Our iPad version has all of these resources embedded in the book. Our Kindle version has a supplemental website with many of these resources: www.returnofthechampion.com

Media Rich Book for Kids

BB and Sam: The Return of the Champion tells stories through different modes. At the core, the book is a compelling text-based story. Rich illustrations bring the characters to life and add context to scenes. Supplemental video, photography and audio ground the reader in a factual, real understanding of what the place looks and feels like. An innovative kids reading experience!

Q&A with the Creators

An interview with Anna and Christopher Batchelder

What inspired you to create The Adventures of BB and Sam series?

The answer is simple. We are passionate about reading and promoting global awareness amongst children (and adults) around the world! We also have a travel bug. But we have a different philosophy on travel. A lot of people visit a country and try to see as much of it as possible. We prefer to park ourselves in one or two cities for a period of 2-3 weeks and absorb the vibe of the place: the food, culture, people. The best way to get to know a place is to live there. It’s tough when there are so many countries in the world.

What is your process for creating e-books for kids and families?

First we select the country we want to focus on in each story. We spend a significant amount of time in that country learning about the culture, taking photos, capturing original video footage and imagining possible storylines.

Then a tremendous amount of time is spent working with the Bon Education team to write the story, edit it and make sure it is exciting and age-appropriate. We have children, parents and teachers in different countries read the story drafts along the way, to make sure we are on the right track.

We work with our amazing illustrator Richard Peter David to create character and scene sketches, full color illustrations and interactive diagrams.

What made you select Thailand as the first destination for BB and Sam?

When we went to Thailand for the first time, we feel in love with the country immediately—the energy, the food, the culture… After spending several weeks touring Bangkok, zip lining through the jungles of Chiang Mai, caring for elephants and eating more noodles than our bellies could hold, we wanted to find a way to share our experiences with kids and families that would be entertaining and that would peak their interest in a country that is near and dear to our hearts.

What countries have you lived in?

Between the two of us, we’ve lived in Japan, the United States, England, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Jordan and Germany.

What countries will be featured in upcoming e-books?

The exact countries are a secret, but if you wanted to guess, at least two are located between the Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean Sea.

What were your favorite children’s books and games growing up?

Anna: I loved books by Roald Dahl, especially Matilda. Other favorites included the Nancy Drew series, the Magic School Bus series and the Choose Your Own Adventure books. When I got a bit older, I loved the Griffin and Sabine trilogy and reading books about comparative culture such as Beyond Culture by Edward Hall. My favorite games were Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Tetris and the Oregon Trail.

Chris: Also a lover of Roald Dahl – especially James and the Giant Peach. Thomas the Train Engine dominated my early years, followed by Winnie-the-Pooh, Stuart Little and The Chronicles of Narnia. Games? Connect Four, Battleship, Risk, Life, Monopoly, Checkers, Uno and Go Fish! More recently I’ve discovered Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford which is pretty awesome! I’m also reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin which is quite lovely.

Research shows again and again the importance of parents being involved in their children’s education and in influencing their children’s reading outlook and habits.

We created a Parent Pack for the series to help parents get ideas about discussion topics and activities that will enhance their children’s understanding and enjoyment of the stories. The Parent Pack gives tips on how parents can help their children build reading comprehension and vocabulary skills, while at the same time expanding their interest and curiosity in other countries. Hopefully the ideas in the pack will lead to lots of interesting family conversations around the dinner table.

What do you want young readers to learn from BB and Sam?

We hope young readers will cultivate cultural understanding, global curiosity, compassion and love for reading about and going on their own adventures.